Princeton Zoning Board OKs Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center at Former Princeton Care Center with Conditions
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Summary
The Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment on Oct. 22 approved a D3 variance and conditional‑use authorization allowing a licensed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility at 728 Bunn Drive, the former Princeton Care Center, with conditions requiring State licensure and updated landscaping.
The Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment on Oct. 22 approved a D3 variance and conditional‑use authorization allowing a licensed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility to operate at 728 Bunn Drive, the former Princeton Care Center, contingent on state licensing and several site conditions.
The boardaction follows prior hearings in June and July and a previously granted administrative waiver of site‑plan review after testimony that existing parking, circulation and stormwater facilities would be used. Attorney Michael Lario, representing applicant True Princeton LLC, said the 64,000‑square‑foot, three‑story building would be operated by Boca Recovery Center and that the only land‑use difference from the prior nursing‑home use is the State licensing citation required for substance‑use treatment (NJAC 10:161) rather than nursing‑home licensure (NJAC 8:39).
Lario told the board the applicant reduced the proposed bed count from 119 to 102 and offered operational testimony, traffic analysis and parking calculations previously presented to the board. He said, "the license requirement will obviously, as a condition of any approval granted by this board, be provided before operations commence at the subject site." The board recorded that license verification as a condition of approval.
The board also required the applicant to update and maintain the previously approved 1999 landscaping plan for the site and to submit an administrative site‑plan waiver package so municipal staff can confirm that the existing plan and any corrective landscaping meet the earlier approval. The board recorded the 102‑bed count and asked that floor plans showing bed counts be included in the administrative submittal.
Dr. Allison Tarlow, chief clinical officer for Boca Recovery Center, described the facilitypatients and operations during public comment and cross‑examination. She said medical detox patients typically remain in bed for five to 10 days and then step down to residential treatment for about two more weeks, and that by State rule the facilities must maintain 24‑hour nursing coverage and required staff ratios. Dr. Tarlow said the program is privately funded, does not accept Medicaid, and includes cameras, locked and alarmed doors where permitted, and staff‑escorted outdoor breaks. In describing the population and day‑to‑day operations she said, "This is not a raucous set of people." She also told the board, "I have never once seen any kind of aggressive act or violent act that was from any of, our patients towards people in any member of the community." Those statements were offered as operational context for the board to consider under D3 negative‑criteria review.
Nearby homeowners who spoke during public comment raised security, buffer maintenance, lighting, smoke and property‑value concerns. The applicant responded that the property is now owned by the applicant (not leased), that landscaping and buffer maintenance will be contractual obligations of site ownership, and that staff will enforce on‑site smoking rules and escort patients for outdoor breaks. Counsel and witnesses testified that both the nursing‑home and rehabilitation licenses are Department of Health credentials subject to inspections and staffing requirements and that operational impacts would be similar to the prior nursing‑home use.
The boardvote recorded the conditions on the record, including the requirement that the applicant obtain the appropriate Department of Health license before commencing operations, provide updated landscaping and maintenance documentation consistent with the 1999 approval, and complete the administrative site‑plan waiver review with staff. The transcript shows the motion to approve passed on roll call; the board recorded the approval and assigned staff to track the required follow‑up submittals.
The boardpublic record for the case will include the revised landscaping documentation, the administrative site‑plan waiver filing, and the State licensure documentation prior to a certificate of occupancy or operational approval.
